TUNIS, Jan 11 (AFP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Thursday accused Israeli troops of attacking Palestinians with depleted uranium shells, claiming such weapons are internationally banned.

Speaking after a meeting with Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Arafat said he had discussed the "military, economic and logistical blockade" on the Palestinians.

He claimed that Israeli forces "used internationally-banned uranium missiles for their tanks and planes."

His allegations followed a statement earlier Thursday by a military spokesman in Jerusalem that Israel had used US-made depleted uranium shells, but only in the navy and abandoned them year ago.

"The shells of the kind used by NATO were used by the navy for Vulcan-Planex cannons, but they were taken out of service a year ago," the spokesman told AFP. "There is no risk of radiation with this type of shell and all necessary precautions were taken over the years," the spokesman said.

He refused to explain why the uranium shells were withdrawn from service, saying: "The armed forces do not give out information on why they use this or that piece of weaponry." He also said the weapons "were not used" in Lebanon."

The 20 millimetre cannons which can fire between 4,000 and 6,000 rounds per minute are used on the Israeli navy's Shar class gunboats.

The use of the depleted uranium shells was earlier reported in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper, which said they had been used for 20 years, and on occasions teams of soldiers slept next to stockpiles of the shells.

The paper quoted soldiers as saying the use of these shells had been rare, as they were only used in operations and not in exercises.

Their first use was in 1985 when an Israeli gunboat intercepted and sank a boat carrying a Palestinian commando group heading for Israel.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Wednesday announced the creation of a special committee to study possible health consequences from the use of depleted uranium.

NATO is under presssure from European countries to supply more information on the weapons. The debate, which arose in Italy, has continued to swell around Europe in the wake of the suspicious deaths of some 20 European soldiers who served in the Balkans.

The Pentagon said Tuesday the United States informed its allies in July 1999 that precautionary measures should be taken by their troops in Kosovo because of the use of depleted uranium weapons.